Transporting a DSLR on a bicycle

[cycladelic]

I have an a850 and do a lot of bicycle touring. I store my camera in what is known as a saddlebag, which attaches behind the seat and rests on a rack above the rear wheel. The camera and lenses are kept inside a soft camera bag that is just the right size to slide into the saddlebag. It is the usual type with a thin layer of padding.

My question is: Do you think riding along a road for a long period of time (months and months) over bumps etc will damage the camera? Obviously any vibration and shock is basically transfered to the camera, as there's virtually nothing to absorb it.

[bakubo]

I have wondered about this sort of thing too. When I am in the car I try to keep my camera bag on a seat rather than the floor because it is cushioned more. Of course, in your case the camera is getting shaken and bumped much more than in a car. I don't think this can be good. There are screws and moving parts inside the camera and lens so it just doesn't seem like a good situation.

[Javelin]

25 years manufacturing machinery and i can tell you with certainty vibration will win in the end. it will undo everything and break whatever it can't undo, it's just a matter of time.

[cycladelic]

I had a Minolta D7 until the end of last year. It was about 5 years old and had been bumped around quite a bit on my bicycle tours. I'm sure it would have lasted longer if it hadn't been... it died a painful death.

The question is: How can I minimize the damage to my a850 - and lenses ?

I wonder about having some thick (say 30mm) foam inside the bag - at the bottom. Is there any special type to buy?

TIA

[KevinBarrett]

It might be less ergonomic for you, but better for your gear, to carry it in a back pack. Your own body would act as suspension for it.

[cycladelic]

Hi, Kevin

I fully understand that comment, but hate the discomfort of riding with my camera gear on my back. Believe me, it's not fun when bent over on a bike for weeks on end.

I sometimes ride with just the camera slung over my shoulder, but not for very long as it can get too much direct sun.

My next tour will be in Bangladesh and India and I expect to be there for a few months. Obviously road conditions in these countries won't be great, especially the small country lanes that I prefer to cycle on.

Here's a pic of my bike and panniers etc taken last year while in Spain. The saddlebag is the red one.

[KevinBarrett]

Sure does look like a comfortable bike. It looks like you've got a bag everywhere that won't immediately interfere with range of motion!

[Greg Beetham]

I agree it's a real concern the constant rather high frequency vibrations that permeate up through the entire bicycle and camera/s just about wherever they may be located. I've been thinking maybe one of those bikes with a suspension and large dia. wheels might be good, (sortof an off-road type bike, not a mountain bike), the one I saw in the bike shop had a self adjusting suspension, the bikeshop guy just pointed it out too demonstrate the types of bikes that are available these days, I didn't get more involved at the time than run my eye over it. My current bike is a road bike (Avanti blade) so it's rather high pressure tyres transmit every stone.
So far my solution is too have a basket, the one here http://www.velogear.com.au/products/Rea ... 970-6.html fixed onto the rear carrier and then a two inch layer of foam in the bottom of that. I sometimes have a couple of DSLR's in snoots in there, 10x50 binocs, (but not every time) and occasionally the sunday paper and a loaf of bread as well.
I haven't had any trouble so far but it is a worry, how can you tell if a camera is being affected, one can't ask it...can one although one day we might be able too...
Greg

ps. I went looking for stuff on suspension bikes and found this article http://camwest.pps.com.au/news/bicycle_fit.shtml, he says suspension bikes are no good, too heavy, and don't carry extra load, it's better too have large dia. tyres than bother with suspensions...so he says anyway....

[pakodominguez]

Hi, Kevin

I fully understand that comment, but hate the discomfort of riding with my camera gear on my back. Believe me, it's not fun when bent over on a bike for weeks on end.

I sometimes ride with just the camera slung over my shoulder, but not for very long as it can get too much direct sun.

Buy a NEX!
just kidding...
other than the A850, what else do you plan to take with you in this trip?

[cycladelic]

Greg - I have had suspension bikes in the past - good ones - and like that writer says, they are not that useful. Besides, I don't believe having suspension would ease the vibration problem - only major bumps.

You can see my bike (above) is rigid. It has a steel frame. Tyre size and pressure does make a difference, but I tend to have them (35mm wide) inflated to at least 60psi, which means they feel quite hard. If they aren't this inflated, the rolling resistance increases and the sidwealls soon disintegrate.

What foam have you been using - just sofa-type stuff?

[cycladelic]

Hi, Pako

Many a true word is said in jest! About 20 years ago I toured with small pocket-type cameras - and got good photos. Why did I decide to lug all this heavy gear around, up and down mountains? I'm not really sure!

I will probably take a few lenses with me, as usual:

For my a850, I've dug out my old - from my pre-digital SLR days - Vivitar 19-35mm. It seems to work okay.

I carry a 50mm Prime, but which rarely sees the light of day. The intention is to use it for low-light shots and portraits.

The main lens is a 28-135mm beercan.

I often take a 75-300mmm, which is used more when riding with others - to take pics of them in the distance etc. I rarely use it when riding solo. If you look at that photo above, you'll see a Lowe lens case velcroed to my handlebars. This lens is in there.

For taking self-timed pics, I carry a small tripod. It's a SLIK Sprint Mini II - quite light but of reasonable quality.

I do some freelance writing for a bike mag - Cycling Plus - and so need decent shots of me riding along.

You can see examples of some self-timed shots at the link below. I was pedalling around Norway about this time last year...

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=R ... 6502&v=1Qn

[Greg Beetham]

The foam needs too be really soft, many of the foams seem very stiff, I've been too the rubber product type stockists in the past they usually have lots of off-cuts if they do a bit of mattress or cushion making on the side (it's no use me giving any business names, you'll have to look in the yellow pages in your location), if they don't, try a motor trimmer, they do everything normally, from cars seats to aircraft seats to boat upholstery, they use squillions of foam all the time.....
Greg

ps. The camera and lens I use mostly on the bike is the A100 and KM24-105, it covers just about any situation and is a reasonably small and light package plus takes quite good pix, only problem is, the 24-105 is not recommended for FF, the edge distortions and CA at the wide end become evident on FF and you really have to avoid light getting on the front of the lens, it's very prone to flare, but even with that I like the lens a lot on APS-C.

[bakubo]

A DSLR has the rather delicate mirror mechanism and also a focal plane shutter. I suppose those are the two major moving parts. Lots of parts though with rather tight tolerances, I expect. A different type of camera would probably be better if you can give up FF and give up the flexibility of a DSLR. The NEX is smaller, lighter and has an APS-C sensor. Still has a focal plane shutter though. Also, you could consider the Panasonic G1, GH1, G10, or G2 with a m4/3 sensor.

[Javelin]

Walt should chime in here I think he does something with Bikes... or recumbants ..

[Chris Malcolm]

I carry my gear around a lot on my bike. I also sometimes carry it into difficult places where it's possible I'll fall over with the bag on my back. I've scrambled up steep mountains with it, climbed trees with it, slid down scree slopes with it, it's meant to go anywhere I can go and take the knocks.

So I make sure the bag is good and the contents well packed. I pack all lenses, flashes, etc. into their own padded lens bags. Those are then packed into individually padded compartments into my gear bag -- one of the bigger Lowe Slingshot bags. The camera fits into a shaped slot which is better padded so it doesn't need a bag. On the bike that bag is then slid into a plastic crate which it just fits snugly, and which has a layer of heavy packing foam in the bottom. It's traveled hundreds of miles like that without any problems. The whole package is too heavy and well padded to take up high frequency vibrations. In addition the bike is a hybrid urban bike, i.e. it has big fat semi-mountain bike tyres. Not good for high speed touring, but very good at soaking up the wallops of damaged road surfaces or even cycling off road.

Last year my packing was subjected to a critical test. A sports car shot out of side road without looking and rammed my bike broadside. The bike was badly smashed up. I and the camera bag were thrown separately onto the car bonnet (US hood). I somehow managed to bounce off and land on my feet. The bag bounced off, hit the road, and rolled for several yards. Absolutely no damage to anything inside except for one thing. I'd stuffed a flash gun in the pack without putting it into its padded bag, and had also left a swivel head plugged into its foot and sticking out against the outer surface of the bag. That was by far the most vulnerable thing in the bag, and it broke off. If I hadn't been "in a hurry" and "only going a short distance" I would have packed it better.

I was very impressed that nothing was damaged. So now even if "I'm in a hurry" and "only going a short distance" I don't move unless everything is packed properly and carefully. If I get a lens which comes with a flimsy bag the first thing I do is go out and buy a well padded one. I've also learned the hard expensive way another safety precaution. When changing lenses don't move off with the new lens on camera until the old lens is back in its padded bag.